DISTRICT ENERGY First steps towards Power-to-X
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DISTRICT ENERGY
First steps towards
Power-to-X
By Frank Taaning Grundholm, Vice President,
Global HVACR Sales, ABB Motion
Power-to-X, the concept of
combining a number of electricity conversion,
energy storage and reconversion pathways,
makes effective use of surplus electricity
production. It is creating great excitement
among governments, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), and industry. This is
especially because it offers a seamless
approach to converting surplus energy for
use in heating, cooling or even in electric
vehicles (EVs). Therefore, it could reduce the
use of fossil fuels and help address the global
sustainability challenge.
However, while there is considerable discussion
about the role that the hydrogen economy
might play in these plans, there is another THE RENEWABLE ENERGY CONUNDRUM
important aspect of Power-to-X that has
a more immediate role to play. That is the All currently scalable renewable energy sources have the
capability for the coupling of various heating challenge that they are not controllable relative to the need for
and cooling sectors, which is effectively the power. They produce power literally as the wind blows or the sun
basis for district energy schemes. shines. This is often not when the energy is needed, and while
energy storage is growing there is not yet sufficient capacity to
According to the UN Environment Program, allow effective “time-shifting”.
the Asia-Pacific is one of the most vulnerable
regions to climate change and impacts are In fact, it is quite common for the output of wind farms to be
projected to become more intense in the curtailed simply because there is too much electricity available
future. It also accounts for nearly half of relative to the demand at a given time. This results in less
global greenhouse gas emissions. However, renewable power being used than is possible theoretically and
it is anticipated that the region will have is a waste of resources.
an abundance of solar, as well as land and
offshore wind power capacity by the end of the By making the right connections between different sectors, such
decade. Therefore Power-to-X, in the form of as heating, cooling, fossil-fueled generation and renewables,
sector coupling, is very interesting to help meet there are several options for buffering the energy. District energy
climate change challenges. solutions could then be used in place of fossil fuels, or to offload
the electrical grid from the load during peak consumption hours
when less wind power is available.
As an example, it is feasible for a district heating utility using large
heat pumps to run them at higher load than the heating network
requirement and then store the heat in large ground pits - known
as pit thermal energy storage (PTES) or in insulated tank thermal
energy storage (TTES). This heat could then be used to reduce the
power usage from the heat pumps when there is less available
renewable energy. There is also new technology emerging, such
as thermoelectric generators (TEGs) that can convert heat back
into electricity, with an efficiency of around 60 percent.
HEAT REUSE EXPERIENCE THAT COVERS THE ENTIRE DISTRICT
ENERGY VALUE CHAIN
District heating networks comprise a distribution system of
insulated pipes that takes heat from a central source and delivers Over the past 40 years, ABB has been involved in many district
it to several domestic or non-domestic buildings. The heat source energy projects worldwide, including Europe, China and Mongolia.
might be a facility that provides a dedicated supply to the heat Our experience covers the whole value chain from production,
network, such as a combined heat and power (CHP) plant. Or it operation, transmission and distribution to the end customer.
could be waste heat that is recovered from industry, such as large The scope of supply is comprehensive, from the high-technology
data centers, or energy from metal processing or chemical plants. variable speed drives (VSDs) and motors that are essential for
Heat networks provide an opportunity to exploit larger scale – and the energy-efficient operation of the multiple pumps at the heart
often lower cost – renewable and recovered heat sources that of district energy schemes, right through to the SCADA systems
otherwise cannot be used.
District heating systems can vary in size, distributing heat just a
“
that provide the over-arching control to balance production and
demand.
“
few hundred meters or up to 50 kilometers and, at their largest,
can encompass an entire city. The smaller communal heating
systems will service a single campus or a village. DISTRICT HEATING NETWORKS
COMPRISE A DISTRIBUTION
One of the benefits of district heating is that it is agnostic to the SYSTEM OF INSULATED PIPES
source. It can utilize whatever is available locally and can even be THAT TAKES HEAT FROM A
flexible over days or weeks. This is where digitalization comes in CENTRAL SOURCE AND DELIVERS
to optimize the process and also to allow operators to participate
in the open power market. For example, if the system includes
IT TO SEVERAL DOMESTIC OR
waste-to-energy plant that produces both electrical power and NON-DOMESTIC BUILDINGS.
heat, it is possible to use the waste to generate more power in the HEAT NETWORKS PROVIDE
period when the market price for electricity is high. On the other AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLOIT
hand, when demand is low, the hot water for heating can be stored LARGER SCALE – AND OFTEN
and used later, because storing energy as water is almost 100 LOWER COST – RENEWABLE AND
times cheaper than storing it as electricity.
RECOVERED HEAT SOURCES THAT
OTHERWISE CANNOT BE USED.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN CHINA DEVELOP FOR THE FUTURE OR IMPLEMENT TODAY?
ABB has supplied a complete district heating system to Dêqên The Asia Pacific region has a great deal to gain by investing in
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Heat Development in Shangri-La in the deployment and development of district energy. In particular,
the Himalayas, China. Shangri-La suffered badly from air pollution using smart digital solutions to connect multiple heat sources and
caused by wood-burning stoves that were the primary source of facilitate control and planning according to forecast availability will
heat for its 50,000 residents. ABB supplied all equipment from the make it possible to start leveraging the available energy faster.
steam to water heat exchanger in the boiler room to the end-user To further the development of other technologies for the increased
installation. This included electrical and mechanical equipment use of renewables and improved energy efficiency, it is sensible
needed to provide heat to the citizens. to run a number of pilot projects in parallel. These could include
the generation of fuel from power. However, they are technologies
ABB automation and electrical solutions interconnect and monitor for the future. There are still challenges with scalability and they
the new heating plants for maximum efficiency, while air-source will not have a significant immediate impact. Yet the pressing
heat pumps have enabled the move from individual heat-only need to address climate change needs fully-commercialized
boilers and stoves to boilers based on electricity. The pumps boost and industrial-scale solutions right now. That is why the time for
the system’s energy efficiency and help improve the quality of life district energy has arrived.
substantially by reducing coal-fired emissions.
To meet the changing needs of the population, five local SCADA FOR FURTHER INFORMATION,
systems communicate with the central control and monitor the ON DISTRICT ENERGY:
system to deliver heat most efficiently. The shift from stoves to the
district heating systems has provided substantial environmental https://new.abb.com/drives/segments/hvac/hvac-
benefits. About 17,000 tonnes of coal is no longer burnt in Shangri- industries/district-energy
La every year, which is the equivalent of 105,000 tonnes in annual
carbon dioxide emissions, and dust emissions is reduced by 460
tonnes.
In another project in China, the heating needs of Shuozhou, a city
of 1.7 million people, are served by large numbers of coal-fired
boilers, which also have efficiency limitations and contribute to ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company
carbon emissions. A new district heating project, supported by that energizes the transformation of society and industry to
an ABB digital platform, will use surplus steam from an existing achieve a more productive, sustainable future.
2,000 megawatt (MW) power plant to generate heat. The heat
will be piped to two heat transfer stations and distributed via an By connecting software to its electrification, robotics,
underground pipeline grid to all the houses and buildings in the automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of
city. technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of
excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success
Substituting the existing heat generation source with the new is driven by about 105,000 talented employees in over 100
district heating grid will help eliminate substantial amounts of countries. www.abb.com
greenhouse gas emissions – estimated at 2.88 million tonnes of
carbon dioxide, 35,500 tonnes of sulfur dioxide, and 0.37 million
tonnes of ash. It will also contribute to the conservation of natural
resources, including 1.5 million tonnes of coal and two million cubic
meters of water.
This article was published in the APUEA Magazine issue 9, March 2021. www.apuea.orgYou can also read
